E105 
i i .029 

















0^ :^^^ ^o^ f^^»: ^^.^ 
















yy^^>- /«'Si'\ ^°':^^%°- j^ 








■^0^ 

.*^ 



^9^ 




-^oV 






















,^^ "^. 



<> *^..«* .0 























■ay ^ * ^^^4 x^ -^ ^ 





I ■» 









-ov*^' 















v^^ ... % '"' 






> ' « 







DISCOVERY 

OF 

NEW-ENGLAND 

BY THE NORTHMEN 

FIVE HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE COLUMBUS, 
WITH AN INTRODUCTION 



ANTIQUITIES OF AMERICA AND ON THE FIRST INHAB- 
ITANTS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

WITH IMPORTANT ADDITIONS. 



A LECTURE, 



DELIVERED IN NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, BOSTON, AND OTHER CITIES: 

ALSO IN SOME OF THE 

FIRST LITERARY INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNION, 



BY A. DAVIS 



FORMERLY CHAPLAIN OF THE SENATE, ETC. NEW YORK. 



TWELFTH EDITIOIsT- 




13 onion: "<^^_ ^' 

DUTTON AND WENTWORTH'S PRINT, 

Nos. 10 and 12 Exchange Street. 

1844. 



TO THE PUBLIC. 



The generous patronage received for the delivery of the following 
Lecture leads to its publication. Though faint the ray of knowledge it 
may impart, yet I trust it will be seen, and its benefits rewarded, while 
exhibited in a different medium. 

The circulation of eleven editions, shows that this hope of success 
has not been disappointed. 

Together with original matter, the Lecture is a compilation from 
various important works. Facts have been obtained from the first 
libraries in Boston, Worcester, Philadelphia, Washington and George- 
town. 

The continued encouragement received from sources like the follow- 
ing, from the distinguished Ornithologist, the pride and glory of both 
continents, encourages me in issuing another edition : 

Buffalo, Neio York, Aug. Ist, 1844. 

I have read the " Antiquities of Central America and the Discovery 
of New England by the Northmen five hundred years before Colum- 
bus," by A. Davis, Esq., with eitreme pleasure and satisfaction ; and 
I feel much indebted to that learned gentleman for all that he has said 
on this most interesting subject, in his memorable Lecture, above men- 
tioned, and I trust that it will be as highly appreciated by all who may 
peruse it as by myself. 

I take this opportunity to offer to Mr. Davis my sincere thanks for 
his goodness to me, and have great pleasure in subscribing myself his 
friend and respectful humble servant, 

John J. Audubon. 

To A. J) AY IS, formerly Chaplain of the Senate, t^c. N. Y. 



INTllODUCTION. 



ANTiaUITIES OF AMERICA. 

While the beauties of the visible creation fade on the eye — while 
all nature reposes under the mantle of night, it is pleasant to leave the 
haunts of business for the lecture-room, and to survey remote periods 
under the light of history. 

The active mind of man instinctively surveys the dark regions of the 
past, and would gladly break the unfathomable silence of the nations of 
the dead, and raise the veil where their beauty and glory have slept for 
ages. This strong desire to learn something of those who lived when 
time was young, leads the antiquary, too often, to adopt groundless 
theories. But if there are counterfeit antiquities, there are those, also, 
that are genuine. The present is an age peculiar for developing the 
latter. 

That America was peopled by those in advance of the savage state, 
long before any authentic accounts are given of settlements, is manifest 
from nameless monuments of antiquity, found in various parts. 

It will be recollected that the avaricious Spaniards discovered and 
conquered Mexico on the North, and Peru and Chili on the South of 
Central America, in the first place. But, at length, the solitude of the 
latter was broken ; and there was discovered the " El Dorado," about 
which the whole Spanish nation had so long been dreaming. 

The appearance of these ruins shows that a nation once existed 
there, highly skilled in the mechanic arts, and in a state of civilization 
far beyond any thing that we have been led to believe of the aborigines, 
previous to the time of Columbus. 

The Antiquities of America were left in succession by nations more 
or less enlightened. Central America was probably the source whence 
the rays of light diverged in all directions. Such is now becoming the 
Herculaneum of the Western World. 

The first knowledge of the Ruins of Central America was derived 
from accounts given by straggling hunters. In 1787, the Spanish gov- 
ernment sent out Del Rio to survey the ruins. Waldeck, in 1822, pub- 
lished an account of Rio's discoveries. 

Capt. Dupnix was sent on a mission to Central America, in 1805. 
Lord Kingsborough gave an account of Dupaix's discoveries. William 
H. Prescott, Esq., of Boston, has the work of Lord K. It is as splen- 
did as it is expensive ; and it presents very beautiful and striking views 
of buildings and likenesses of the inhabitants. 



4 A LECTURE ON THE 

Waldeck visited the South in 1832. Among the hieroglyphics he 
thinks he has decyphered an account of the reign of eleven queens. 

The late Gov. Galindo, of Peten, in CentraT America, has corres- 
ponded with the late Lieut. Gov. Winthrop, Boston, relative to .the an- 
tiquities of that region. For the great discoveries made, he has received 
a ])rc!mium from one of the literary societies of Europe. 

He, in speaking of one of the cities in the vicinity of Palenque, says 
that a gigantic Massica, or bread-fruit tree, grows on one of the altars 
encircling it with its powerful roots. The most remarkable trees grow- 
ing over the ruins, are, the Mahogany, Cedar, Chocolate, &c. One of 
the squares of the city is surrounded with six handsome obelisks, the 
highest of which is more than six yards high. They all bear, in basso 
relievo, gigantic figures. One temple has eighty such figures. 

The temple of Copan was 653 feet by 524 feet in dimensions. It 
must have been as large as St. Peter's Church in Home. Let us gaze 
on this mighty structure, for our instruction. It stands as a landmark 
on the broad field of time — it reminds us of the remote origin of a great 
empire. Centuries must have rolled away — dynasties must have suc- 
ceeded each other, before orders of architecture were introduced ; and 
a long time must have elapsed before an empire would become so lux- 
urious as to erect the stupendous temple of Copan. 

Among the vast pile of ruins, is found an architrave of black gran- 
ite, finely cut. Six granite columns are seen, each of a single piece, 
seventeen feet high and three feet in diameter. 

The Mayon architecture in Yucatan is said to be superior to that of 
Palenque. It is wrought in stone, and finished with great elegance. 

Gen. Santa Anna says, that the antiquities of Central America are 
worthy of being placed in parallel with the pyramids of Egypt. 

Palenque, which lies 240 miles from Tobasco, lat. 17° N., is among 
the most remarkable cities of the South. Palenque is a Castilian word, 
and means " lists for fighting." 

This city has emphatically been called the Thebes of America. In 
surveying its ruins, the traveller is led to believe that it was founded at 
as early a period as the renowned cities of Egypt. 

[low immense this city ! It is supposed to have been sixty miles in 
circumference, and that it contained a population of nearly three 
millions. 

Palenque, lying about one thousand miles from Mexico, and being 
elevated five thousand feet above the ocean, enjoyed a climate almost 
unequalled for its pleasantness. The natural beauty of the scenery 
was unrivalled, the soil rich and fertile beyond any other portion of 
the globe. 

One of the principal structures revealed to the eye of the antiquarian, 
is the Teoculi, or temple. Its style of architecture resembles the 
Gothic. It is rude, massive, and durable. Though resembling the 
Egyptian edifices, also, yet this and the other buildings are peculiar, 
and are different from all others hitherto known. 

The entrance to this temple is on the east side, by a portico more 
than one hundred feet in length, and nine broad. The rectangular 
pillars of the portico have their architraves adorned with stucco work 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. O 

of shields and other devices. The temple stands on an elevation of 
sixty feet. Among the ruins, different objects of worship have been 
found ; and, in particular, an idol of pure gold, about six inches long. 
Amid this wilderness of ruins are now to be seen fourteen large stone 
buildings, with many of their apartments in good condition. 

The antiquity of this city is manifest, not only from its nameless 
hieroglyphics and other objects, but from the age of some of the trees 
growing over buildings where once the hum of industry and the voice 
of merriment were heard. The concentric circles of some of these 
trees were counted, which showed that they were more than 900 years 
of age. 

Similar beautiful and majestic ruins to those named above, are found 
along the coast of California. Humboldt visited a splendid building, 
800 miles from Mexico, that forty years since was seven stories high. 
The Spaniards have demolished it mostly, to get materials for building 
dwellings and sugar-houses. Have not the vandals of the New World 
made desolation more desolate ? 

Mr. Stephens's new work on " Central America," confirms the state- 
ments of other travellers, while it heightens our wonder by the graphic 
description of the ruins of the desolate cities, especially of those found 
in Copan and Palenque. There, he says, " architecture, sculpture, 
painting, and all the arts that embellish life, had flourished in an over- 
grown forest." 

Among the specimens of the arts, he found massive obelisks, bearing 
on their sides sculptured images and medallion tablets — large altars 
ornamented with hieroglyphics, giving a record of those who reared 
them — splendid temples adorned with human figures, executed in stucco 
and bas-relief — walls built of hewn stone. The specimens of sculpture 
equalled any thing he saw in Egypt. 

In his second work he says, " These ruins are skeletons rising from 
their graves, wrapped in their shrouds, claiming no affinity with the 
works of any known people." Long will these works of art stand alone 
in majesty and beauty, 

" And gorgeous as the sun at midsummer." 

The Chevalier Frederichal, attache of the Austrian legation, lately 
spent nine months at the South. He found, in a place hitherto untrod 
by modern travellers, a majestic group of pillars. There were ten 
rows, and in each row there were forty-eight columns. With his da- 
guerreotype apparatus, he took a great number of excellent impres- 
sions. From these, when magnified, he has made drawings, which 
show the original, by their richness, elegance and finish, to be the work 
of a highly cultivated people. It is natural that we should linger around 
these inanimate objects. They remind us of splendid cities that, like 
Troy, once " were." But, above all, they tell us of the illustrious of 
other days. What are ruins to us, but as they remind us of the enter- 
prise and wisdom of those who reared them ? What were Carthage 
without the recollection of ill-fated Dido, or the daring deeds of Hanni- 
bal ? And what will Mount Vernon be centuries hence, but as it will 
remind our posterity of the valor, patriotism and virtues of the Father 
of our Republic .'' 



b A LECTURE ON THE 

The monumental history of Central America tells us that this is not 
a new world. And we wake with astonishment, that there was once the 
seat of a great empire, before David reigned over the twelve tribes of 
Israel, or Octavius waved his sceptre over the civilized world ! 

But, alas ! the founders of cities as magnificent as those that adorned 
the banks of the Nile, have vanished like the generations before the 
flood. 

" Every house is builded by some man ;" but who erected the splen- 
did temples of Palenque, none can tell, save " He who made all things." 
Unnumbered centuries have passed away since the noonday of Palen- 
cian glory. There the wing of endless night broods over all that was 
once beautiful and grand — 

" Where senates once the weal of nations planned, 
Hisseth the ffliding- snake, through hoary weeds 
That clasp the mouldering columns." 

I have seen an original representation, in stucco, of the following 
Palencian head, in the possession of Professor Dod, Princeton College : 



Shade of Spurz- 
heim, tell, if thou 
canst, what qual- 
ities such a form- 
ed head as this, 
implies. 




This helmet is 
said to resemble 
those described 
by Homer. 



Oh! that some mighty genius like that of Belzoni, would arise and 
remove, from this city of the world called new, the veil that conceals 
its origin. 

It is suj)posed that this city was destroyed by some internal convul- 
sion, or, liKe those of the South of Europe, was overwhelmed by the 
barbarians of the North. 

Possibly, famine or pestilence might have desolated that fair region. 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 



It is not singular that it should have been concealed from view for 
ages, when we recollect that cities of the Eastern continent have, in 
like manner, remained in oblivion till of late. We allude to the ruins 
of Paestum, in Campania, of Italy, and those of Petra of Idumea, in 
Asia. A new forest hid for centuries — the former from the degene- 
rate sons of Rome, while the splendid structures of Petra were known 
only to Bedouins for over a thousand years. Who does not delight to 
read about the roses of Pa3stum ! Yet they still unfold their inimitable 
petals amid the ruins of palaces, and beside dilapidated temples. 

Do we admire the boundless forests, the lofty mountains, and the 
majestic rivers of our hemisphere ? The vast wilderness of ruins, 
once enlivened by intelligent beings, should demand a higher claim to 
our admiration. 

The antiquities of America stretch from the great lakes of the 
North and West, to Central America and the Southern parts of Peru 
on the South ; from the Alleghany mountains on the East, to the 
Rocky mountains on the West ; and even from the Pacific to the 
Atlantic ocean. 

The Mexicans hold the next place on the scale of civilization to the 
Central Americans. 

The Toltecs probably came into Anahauc, or the vale of Mexico, 
the beginning of the seventh century. They flourished four centuries 
and suddenly disappeared. They were an enlightened and amiable 
people. Though pagans, they did not, like the Aztecs, who took pos- 
session of the country in 1325, offer up human sacrifices. 

Although the Aztecs, or Mexicans, excelled in astronomy, architec- 
ture, the fine arts, agriculture, legislation, jurisprudence, and the dis- 
play of many of those social virtues that dignify humanity, yet their 
theology cast a dark shade over all the attractions their history other- 
wise displays. 

They believed in one Supreme God, in thirteen subordinate deities, 
and in over two hundred inferior ones. The god who received most 
devotion was Mars, their god of war. On his altar human victims 
bled. To this Moloch of the West twenty thousand victims at least 
were offered annually ! The Aztecs were cannibals. Such is man 
where he sees not the attributes of God in the " things that are made." 
Yes, all nature is but the reflection of the True God. The modest 
violet, fresh from the sleep of winter, tells him there is a God, anJ that 
He is great and good. (See Rom. 1 : 20.) Nought but the bright 
beams of the "Sun of Righteousness" can dissipate the darkness 
with which man has enshrouded his moral nature. 

Remarkable was the progress of the Mexicans in the science of 
Astronomy. Their year was divided into eighteen months of twenty 
days each, and five unlucky days. As the year is composed of nearly 
six hours more than three hundred sixty-five days, there still remained 
an excess, which they provided for by intercalation. At the expiration 
of fifty-two years, the end of a cycle, they interposed twelve and a 
half days, the number which had fallen in arrear. Time was marked 
on their calendar stones with as much accuracy as is evinced by the 
modern improvements of astronomy into two minutes and nine seconds 



O A LECTURE ON THE 

in tlie year. I have seen in the Museum of Mexican Antiquities, be- 
longing to the Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, a beautiful repre- 
sentation of the large calendar stone to be seen in the city of Mexico. 

How magnificent must have been that temple in Mexico, at whose 
altars five thousand priests officiated. But the city of Tezcuco, on the 
opposite shore of the lake, was still the seat of a higher advance in 
civilization than was displayed in Mexico. It was "the capital of a 
splendid kingdom of the same name. It was the Athens of the West- 
ern World. The king erected a magnificent pile of buildings. It ex- 
tended from east to west 1234 yards, and from north to south 978. In- 
numerable were the attractions that met the eye on wandering through 
the courts of this majestic structure. 

As walls incrusted with alabasters and richly tinted stucco, tapestries 
of variegated feather work, gardens with baths, and sparkling fountains 
overshadowed by groves of cypress and cedar. 

Much has been learned in relation to Mexican history, but much must 
remain forever concealed, as the first Archbishop of Mexico caused a 
mouQtainous pile to be made of the MSS. of that country and ordered 
them to be burnt in the market place. Such was the loss effected by 
the Omar of the West. 

We know less of the antiquities of South America than of those 
further north. Those that have been recorded show a people far ad- 
vanced in civilization. 

The antiquities of North America are quite different from those fur- 
ther south, — consisting of Fortifications, Mounds, Pottery, Metallic In- 
struments, &c. They must have been left by intelligent nations at an 
early period. This is evident from the remark of the late President 
Harrison. He observes, that it would take the trees growing where a 
forest was cut down fifty years since, five hundred years to equal in 
height the surrounding woods, and that a forest of the largest trees at 
the mouth of the Great Miami, consisting of fifteen acres, covers the 
ruins left by former races. 

First Inhabitants of America. — We will not say, as the Atheni- 
ans said of their nation, that the first inhabitants of America were cre- 
ated when the sun was first lit up in the sky ; but we must presume 
they early reached this continent from the old world. 

The learned Dr. Clarke says, that the continents were once united ; 
but that, by the force of winds and waves, the isthmuses were broken 
up and formed into islands along the coasts. Easy, however, is the 
transition from the East to the West, by the way of Bhering's straits, 
when we consider that they are only thirteen leagues wide. 

Adverse winds also might have driven the frail vessels of the an- 
cients to the region lying on the gulf of Mexico, and elsewhere. 

But, as tropical animals found in America could not have crossed 
over by Bhering's straits, when frozen, they must have come by land 
that once extended from Asia or Africa to America, in the torrid zone. 
Should It be asked why certain animals, as the horse and the cow, not 
found originally on this continent, did not cross by this continuous 
range of lands, we answer, because the original continent was divided, 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. V 

as possibly in the days of Peleg, (Gen. 10, 25,) before such animals 
had an opportunity to migrate. 

I am inclined to believe that the land that united the now two conti- 
nents, was the Atlantis spoken of by Plato, Homer, and Hesiod. Plato 
saw an account of this land which disappeared, in the hieroglyphics of 
Egypt. I saw in the Jesuit's College, Georgetown, an important arti- 
cle on this subject. It was stated that there were the remains of a 
sunken tract of land once lying between Brazil and Africa — that such 
are seen also in the islands of Cape Verd and Ascension, and others 
— and in the numerous sandbanks observed by Bauche in particular, 
who sounded that part of the Atlantic with great accuracy. 

I think from the plains of Shinar, men and animals diverged in all 
directions. As it is said in Gen. 11, 8, " So the Lord scattered them 
from thence upon the face of all the earth." 

As the Europeans on coming here found no animals peculiar to the 
Eastern Continent, I think only a part of the various species preserved 
by Noah migrated West. Those left behind ever remained different 
from those found in the New World by the Spaniards. If this idea is 
new to others, I hope it may be considered more reasonable than the 
infidel opinion, that men and animals were distinct creations here from 
those of Asia. 

Think you they would have transported venomous serpents from the 
old to the new world ? 

Ogilby, Cosmographer to the English sovereign, 1671, thinks that 
men and animals came, immediately after the flood, from Armenia to 
Tartary ; and from the latter place to this continent, by a continuous 
range of land extending from Asia to America by Bhering's straits. 

I think with Georgii Hornii, who published his views, 1629, in a 
Latin book, that this migration to this continent took place immediately 
after the confusion of tongues at Babel. 

By this primitive people, the cities of the South rose probably simul- 
taneously with those that adorned the banks of the Nile. 

The traces of an extinct race of men about nine feet in length, are 
to be found in various parts, as in Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, 
Rhode Island, and New York. 

And is it strange it should have been said in the Sacred volume — • 
"" And there were giants in those days .^" 

The lights of science and revelation commingle, forming one broad 
stream of light, that is not lost but amid the radiance that encircles the 
throne of the Eternal. 

The eyes of mankind, from the time of Pythagoras, have been 
turned to the West, in the anticipation that here new discoveries were 
to be made ; and hither were the adventurous at length led. 

It is possible that the Northmen, as well as those of earlier times, 
had heard of a Western world 

Seneca, Diodorus Siculus, and Aristotle, speak of regions beyond 
the Atlantic. Plato says he saw an account in the hieroglyphics of 
Egypt, of a large tract of land, Atlantis, that once lay West of the 
straits of Gibraltar, 
2 



10 



A LECTURE ON THE 



It is thought Virgil alludes, in the following lines, to places West. 
In speaking of Augustus, he says that — 

" He shall his power to India extend, 
Beyond the annual circle, and beyond 
The sun's long progress, where great Atlas bears. 
Laden with golden stars, the glittering spheres." 

First known Discoverers of America.— It is thought Biarne was 
accidentally driven by fierce winds on the coast of Newfoundland, be- 
fore Lief sailed to the West. 

The discovery of Annerica by the Northmen, excites a vast deal of 
curiosity. And is it not a laudable curiosity that leads one to ascertain 
what white men first trod regions in which the modest wild flower 
wasted its sweetness on the desert air ? 

As Geography is one of the eyes of History, it would be well, at this 
time, to direct the attention to the map of North America, and to those 
of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in particular. 

The Royal Society of Northern Antiquarians in Copenhagen, have 
lately published an important work. While the contents of this mas- 
sive work are invaluable, its mechanical execution reflects great honor 
on the Society that published it. 

This work is called, as translated from the Latin, " American An- 
tiquities, or Northern Writings of Things in America before the time 
of Columbus." 

The determination was formed some years since, by the Royal So- 
ciety of Antiquarians in Copenhagen, to publish the authorities on 
which these accounts rest, in the original documents, accompanied with 
full commentaries and illustrations. The text is in the Icelandic tongue. 

The inquiry is often made, " Who were the Northmen .?" They 
were the descendants of the Scandinavians, who, it is thought, sprang 
from the Thracians mentioned by Homer — a nation now extinct. The 
Danes, the Swedes, the Norwegians, and the Icelanders, all come under 
the name of Northmen or Norsemen. Their literature has been com- 
pared, in extent, to the literary remains of Greece and Latium. This 
opens a new fountain of research, where the scholar may often 

" Return and linger, linger and return." 

This great work contains two Icelandic documents, now for ihe Jirst 
time published accurately, in a complete form, purporting to be histo- 
ries written by or for persons who discovered and visited the North 
American coast early in the eleventh century, confirmed and illustrated 
by extracts from no less than fifteen other original manuscripts, in 
which the facts set forth in these histories are either mentioned or allu- 
ded to. The Royal Society has already collected two thousand Sagas, 
or works of Scandinavian or Icelandic history. 

In this work, in particular, is found Adam of Bremen's account of 
the discovery of America, communicated to him in the eleventh centu- 
ry, by Sweyn Estrithson, king of Denmark. 

1. Are these documents genuine.^ 

2. If so, why have they not been heard of before ? 

The work, itself, contains evidences of the antiquity and authenticity 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 11 

of the manuscripts, from which the publication has been made, suffi- 
cient to raise them above any just suspicion. 

These documents, as Professor Rafn says, have been known to Ice- 
landic scholars ; but these have been so few, comparatively, and the 
means of these hw so limited, that they have not been able to give 
them suitable examination, much less to be at the expense of publish- 
ing them. 

How long did the ancient classics, for instance, lay concealed in the 
monasteries of Europe, for the want of some one to exhibit them to 
public view ? These Icelandic documents may have been hid, in like 
manner, in the libraries of priests. And we may say that the Society 
of Antiquarians, in Copenhagen, in bringing these documents to light, 
resembles the conduct of the poet laureate, Petrarch, in the fourteenth 
century, who, at his own expense, had the valuable manuscripts of an- 
tiquity dragged from the dust of the cloisters, transcribed, and exhibit- 
ed to the world. 

Who does not admire the lovely scenery, where the beautiful and 
sublime are blended, displayed in the succession of Falls at Trenton ? 
Yet these were concealed for ages, till a master-spirit revealed them to 
an admiring world. And does not the raven wing of night hide the 
works of art, also, till disclosed in a similar way ? The learned of 
Iceland, though, like the generality of poets, poor ; yet they were iiot 
disposed, like Milton, to sell their manuscripts for a paltry sum. 

It is well known the Norwegians have long claimed the honor of dis- 
covering and colonizing America before the time of Columbus. 

Instead of this discovery being a new-fangled theory, as some say, 
there have been several works published in Europe, upwards of a cen- 
tury, which speak of these facts. Wormius speaks of this discovery, 
in a Latin translation, published at the University of Oxford, in or 
about 1716. In Adam of Bremen's account, published 1629, he uses 
the following striking language : " Non fabulosa opinione, sed certa re- 
latione Danorum ;" that is, in a free translation, " This is not a fabu- 
lous opinion, but a true narrative, given by the Danes themselves." 
Dr. Franklin, in a letter to a distinguished antiquary formerly of Swit- 
zerland, says^ positively J that the Danes came into New-England before 
the time of Columbus. Dr. Mather published an account, also, of this 
discovery, in 1772. 

The celebrated Dr. Henderson, who travelled in Iceland, says that 
the fact of this early discovery was well known to the Icelanders — that 
it was authenticated by Northern historians. It is a remarkable fact, 
that Iceland, where these documents relating to the early discovery 
were preserved, were the Athens of the North, during the Dark Ages. 

During the Middle Ages, the Icelanders were the most intelligent 
people in the North. Even now, as Henderson says, youth can repeat 
passages from Latin and Greek authors, who have never been but a 
few miles from the place of their birth. Truly, the hardy Icelanders 
were our librarians and historians. 

Iceland appears to have been a medium of communication between 
Norway and Greenland, — a stepping-stone, as it were, from one conti- 
nent to another. 



12 A LECTITRE ON THE 

Iceland, thought by some to be the " Ultima Thule" of Virgil, wag 
discovered by the Norwegians in 861. The oppression of king Harold 
Harfaga drove them there for an asylum. 

But the restless spirit of the Northmen would not allow them to be 
idle. They made incursions in every direction, and discovered Green- 
land in 984. 

in 986, a colony was begun by Eric the Red. This was at length 
destroyed. By the exertions of the Danish Society, the ruins of this 
settlement have been discovered. It was located on the West, near 
Cape Farwell. It is seen in the remains of churches and buildings, 

Leif, the son of Eric, commenced a voyage of discovery, in the year 
1000. His crew consisted of thirty-five men. Leif was the first to 
introduce missionaries into Greenland. 

After sailing for some time south-west, they made land. They an- 
chored and went ashore. This place was destitute of grass, and was 
covered with a slaty rock, whicii they called Helluland. This is sup- 
^posed to be L a b rador , Fishermen and travellers of the present day 
give a like description of that barren region. 

From thence they sailed southwardly ; and, after holding on for some 
time, they again made land and went ashore. This country was level, 
had a low coast, presenting, here and there, bluffs of while sand, and 
was thickly covered with wood. This they named Markland or Wood- 
land. This is thought to be Nova Scotia. 

Leaving Markland, they sailed south-westerly, with a fair wind, two 
days before seeing land again, when they passed down a promontory, 
probably the east side of Cape Cod, stretching east and north •, and 
then turning west between an island, (Martha's Vineyard) and the main 
land, they entered a bay (Narragansett Bay) through which a river 
(Taunton River) flowed, when they came to anchor and went ashore. 
Resolving to spend the winter here, they called the place Leifsbuthir, 
or place of booths. Here, finding grapes very plenty, they called the 
place Vinland or Wineland the good. This land, to those coming from 
the remote North, appeared as nature in the " world's first spring." 

Early in the season they returned to Greenland. Leif 's return be- 
came the principal subject of conversation. 

The next adventurer was Thorwold, his brother. And you will ob- 
serve that he and the other navigators gave the same account of places 
they visited. Were not this the case, who could believe any of their 
reports ? 

Thorwold, thinking the country had not been sufficiently explored, 
set sail in 1002, and proceeded to Leifsbuthir, where he lived till 1004. 
In the spring of 1004, he sailed from Leifsbuthir. After passing 
along the shore of the promontory, east and north, they sailed round a 
sharp point of land, called Kjarlanes. This must have been Cape Cod. 
Kjarlanes implies Keel-cape. For Cape Cod, at the extremity, is in 
shape of the keel of ancient vessels, which curved inward. 

These Northmen were peaceable men. They were not like Pha3ton, 
who gladly would have seized the reins of the chariot of the sun to set 
the world on fire. It must not be denied, however, that the second great 
navigator, Thorwold, assailed the natives without cause ; but in using 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 13 

the sword he perished by the sword. On receiving a mortal wound, 
he requested that, after his death, crosses might be placed at either end 
of his grave. 

The'Catholic ministers, in giving an account of their first missionary 
labors in this country, speak of the custom of the natives in wearing 
crosses. Such must have been introduced by the Northmen Christians. 

I mentioned this circumstance, lately, to the librarian of the Ameri- 
can Antiquarian Society, Worcester ; and he said that a cross had been 
sent to that institution by a gentleman of Ohio. I saw this emblem of 
the Christian faith. It must have been hid from the light of heaven for 
centuries. This silver cross is about two and a half inches long. It 
was found on the breast of a female skeleton, one which was dug from 
a mound at Columbus, over which a forest of trees had grown. On this 
cross the capital letters I. S. are perfectly visible. And what can these 
letters imply, but the initials of the sacred name, Iesus Salvator ? 

Who can doubt, then, that the " Sun of Righteousness " cast his 
bright beams on the land west of the dread Atlantic, long before the 
time of Columbus ? 

In 1006, Thorfins or Thorfin commanded one of the three ships that 
came from Iceland to Greenland. He was of royal lineage. 

In the spring of 1007, Thorfin, with three ships and one hundred 
and sixty men, besides cattle and all necessary materials for establish- 
ing a colony, set sail for Vinland. 

They sailed to Helluland or Labrador ; from thence to Markland or 
Nova Scotia ; and from thence to Kjarlanes, or Cape Cod. Sailing 
south by the east side of the promontory which terminated at Kjar- 
lanes, they passed along beaches or trackless deserts of sand. How 
descriptive of this bleak and sterile coast ! 

Those who have sailed from Boston to Narragansett Bay, are ready 
to say that I am not drawing an ideal picture. 

Continuing their course they arrived at an island. They called it 
Shaumey. This is supposed to be Martha's Vineyard. Nine men 
went away in one of the ships and never returned. It is said they 
were driven on the coast of Ireland, where they were seized as slaves. 

In the spring, Thorfin and one hundred and fifty others went to the 
main land. They called the place Flop, the residence afterwards of 
king Philip. Here they found large numbers of skrellings or natives. 
Thorfin carried on a traffic with them, by exchanging bits of colored 
cloth for furs. In consequence of their frequent attacks, in 1009 
they returned to Greenland. Then, it will be recollected, the North- 
men had not the use of fire-arms with which to defend themselves 
against the assaults of the savages. These lords of the wilds had a 
rude kind of engine, by which they hurled large stones against their 
foes ; and it is possible that the white man would never have driven 
the red man from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, |ut for the in- 
vention of gunpowder. 

I cannot forbear to speak of the valor of one of this crew of the 
Northmen, a female. When all the rest were disposed to flee before 
the savage foe, she exclaimed : " If I only had a weapon, I ween I 
could fight better than any of you." Ah ! when we consider the pa- 



14 A LECTURE ON THE 

triotism of the females at the seige of Carthage, who cut their locks to 
make ropes for engines of war ; and when we recollect the cour- 
age of Isabella of Castile, who, at the conquest of Grenada, though in 
ill health, led on her veterans to conquest and glory, have we not rea- 
son to suppose that this Scandinavian was sincere in her declaration ? 
Truly, valor and beneuolence are but parallel streams in the female 
heart. We would not applaud courage, however, unless under the con- 
trol of a higher and holier principle. 

Thorfin married Gudrida, the widow of Thorstein, third son of Eric. 
She accompanied her husband to Vinland. Snorre, their son, was the 
first white child born in America. From him descended the distin- 
guished associate of Professor Rafn, Finn Magnusen. The late great 
sculptor, Thorwaldsen, of Denmark, was of this family. Bishop Thu- 
lack Rudolfson was a descendant of Thorfin's, and it is supposed that 
he wrote or compiled these documents. ' 

A distinguished geologist from Denmark has lately found the remains 
of an Icelandic city in Brazil. He discovered Runic inscriptions on 
fiag-stones. Above all, he found a statue of the Northman god of 
thunder, Thor, with his attributes, the magic girdle and hammer. 

Thorfin, the most distinguished of these, returned to Iceland, where 
he ended his days, living in great splendor. 

The editor of the American Antiquities, Professor Rafn, and his 
associate. Professor Finn Magnusen, think that Vinland was situated in 
the east part of Rhode-Island, and in the south part of Massachusetts, 
on or about Narragansett Bay and Taunton River. 

The points in the Icelandic documents alluding to the locality of Vin- 
land, may be reckoned the Geography, Natural History, Astronomical 
Phenomena, and Vestiges of Residence of Northmen in that place. 
All of these, in the opinion of the editor of the American Antiquities, 
point to the head of Narragansett Bay or Mt. Hope Bay, as the local- 
ity of Hop, the central part of Vinland. 

As the Royal Society have held correspondence with several learned 
societies in this country for some years, they are well qualified to form 
a judgment on this subject. Dr. Webb, now of Boston, formerly Sec- 
retary of the Rhode-Island Historical Society, and J. R. Bartlett, Esq., 
of New York, have been very efficient agents in aiding the Royal So- 
ciety in presenting this great work to the world. 

The following letter, from the late General Holstein, Professor in the 
" Albany Female Academy," will show the care taken to acquire in- 
formation relative to American Antiquities : 

*' In proof of the great exertions made by the Northern Antiquarian 
Society, in Copenhagen, to acquire a knowledge of Scandinavian anti- 
quities in America, 1 hereby state that, several years since, a letter of 
inquiry, sealed with the seal of the Society, was sent to a professional 
gentleman of Geneva, in this State, a translation of which 1 made from 
the Danish tongue." 

The Geography of Vinland. — Concerning the situation of Hellu- 
land there can be no doubt, as it was the first land south-west of Green- 
land. Where else could this have been, unless the coast of Labrador } 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 15 

Markland was situated south-west from Helluland, three days' sail, 
or three hundred and sixty English miles. This is supposed to be No- 
va Scotia. 

The distance of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick agrees with the 
account the Icelanders gave of Markland. 

Vinland was situated two days' sail, or about two hundred and forty 
English miles to the south-west of Markland ; and if Markland has 
been properly located, must be sought in or near the south part of Mas- 
sachusetts. 

In the Icelandic documents, it is said that Hop, the residence of 
Thorfin, was situated on an elevation of land, near a river which flowed 
south, through a bay, into the ocean. From this the land stretched 
east ; and, turning north, formed a promontory, which terminated in a 
point or cape, which they call Kjarlanes. The east side of the prom- 
ontory was bound by long, narrow beaches, or sand-hills. To those 
who, like myself, have often viewed the Atlantic from these sand-hills^ 
this account appears peculiarly striking. 

The Natural History of Vinland. — Vinland was remarkable for 
its vines, maple trees, maize, and a great variety of wild animals. The 
waters abounded with fish, and were occasionally visited with whales. 
Birds were numerous. The eider duck was seen about the islands in 
large numbers. 

As to vines, they are said to be numerous even now ; and this is 
more particularly true of the country around Narragansett Bay. And 
was not an island called Martha's Vineyard, on account of the multi- 
plicity of vines growing there? 

The celebrated Bishop Berkley, who attempted to establish a theo- 
logical seminary in Rhode-Island, says, in his letter to his friends in 
Europe, that vines were as plenty on the island as in Italy. Gosnald, 
who visited the Elizabeth Isles in 1602, says, that vines were in great 
profusion there. 

In the documents it is said that, in that region, are the red, sugar 
and bird's-eye maple. The Northmen cut down the trees ; and, after 
they were dry, they loaded their ships with the timber. It is supposed 
that the bird's-eye variety was made an article of commerce. 

As to Indian corn or maize, it seems our pilgrim fathers found some 
in what is now called Truro, near the end of the Cape. It was buried 
in the earth to preserve it. 

It is needless to remind the reader of the multiplicity of fish that still 
abound in the waters of this region. The sportsman may, at this day, 
tell his friends, in the language of Capt Smith, of Jamestown, who 
described this quarter, " of the pleasure to be derived from angling, 
and crossing the sweet air, from isle to isle, over the silent streams of a 
calm sea." 

As to whales, I have occasionally seen them spouting around the 
sandy shores of the Cape. 

In regard to the eider duck, in the Latin translation it is called 
" anas moUissima," a duck with the finest of feathers. The real eider 
duck of Iceland, is, at this day, frequently seen around Martha's Vine- 



16 



A LECTURE ON THE 



yard. Wild fowl must have been numerous there, as an island is still 
called Egg Island, from the quantity of eggs they deposited.* 

Thorfin describes the Soil and Climate. — The winters of Vin- 
land are said to be remarkably mild, but little snow falling, and cattle 
subsisting out of doors, through the winter. 

This account does not agree with the description of New-England 
winters at this time. Still, however, it has been the practice of the 
farmers on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, to let their sheep and 
cattle lie out during the winter. But the cold winters of New-England, 
compared with those of Greenland, are as the mildness of spring. 
They speak, however, of a snowy winter. 

But there have been great changes in the face of the earth and in 
the climate, in different ages. Change is the law of nature. Has not 
one of the bright cluster been blotted out from the map of heaven ? 
Such changes also take place on the face of the earth. 

The Dead Sea was, in early times, sixty miles long. It is now only 
thirty. And even old Ontario and Erie have receded from their former 
bounds, leaving to the present generation a rich tract of land, several 
miles wide, and a beautiful ridge-road. Who does not admire the 
everlasting rocks, rising in stern grandeur, on either side of the Mo- 
hawk, at the Little Falls ? Yet, the lovely vale above must once have 
been the bed of a vast lake. This is manifest from the fact, that there 
are '' pot-holes" found at an elevation of sixty feet above the river, at 
these falls. 

These circular excavations were made ages since, by the circumvo- 
lution of stones, driven by the rapid descent of the waters. You can 
see a demonstration of this fact, by looking at the high falls of Black 
River or Trenton. 

And what a mighty labor was that, for the waters of this lake to 
have found their way, gradually, through the high and continuous wall 
of granite, where now the Mohawk murmurs as it rolls along its new 
channel. 

Geological facts prove that it was much warmer, formerly, in the 
North, than it is now. 

Large forests once flourished in Lapland. 

It is not to be disputed that, in former ages, Iceland produced timber 
in abundance. Large trees are occasionally found there in the marshes 
and valleys, to a considerable depth in the ground. Segments of the 
fossil-trees have lately been exported, in proof of the alleged fact. 

It is asserted in the ancient Icelandic records, that when Ingulf, the 
Norwegian, first landed in Iceland, 879, he found so thick a cluster of 
birch trees that he penetrated them with difficulty. 

Henderson, in his Travels in Iceland, says, that the climate has dete- 
riorated there, from the fact that it was once shaded with forests. 

When the first Norwegian colony settled in Greenland, about 1000 
years ago, they found no difficulty from ice in approaching the coast, and 
a regular correspondence was supported by their people for many years. 

* Mr. Audubon, whose letter to me is on the second page, says he has seen in Labrador, 
twenty-seven nests of the eider duck within a very small compass. 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 



17 



Astronomical Phenomena. — The learned Editor and his associate 
deduce from the astronomical data, lat. 41° 24' 10'', which is the lati- 
tude of Narragansett Bay, and Mount Hope. There, at the Winter 
Solstice, December 22, the day is nine hours. 

That the Northmen were capable of taking latitudes, is evident from 
the circumstance, that, at that period, they speak of eclipses, which 
have lately been calculated by Sir David Brewster and the distinguished 
Norwegian astronomer, Hanstein, and found correct. 

The reading, however, that leads to the above calculation, has been 
disputed. The whole controversy turns on the meaning of two words. 
From what we can understand, we presume the Editor is correct in his 
exposition. 

But suppose we were to reject all history on account of some appa- 
rent or real discrepancy in narration } In such a case, some future 
reader might declare that the history of the American Revolution was 
neither credible nor authentic; for it is said that the distinguished bat- 
tle of the 17th June, 1775, was fought on Bunker's Hill, instead of 
Breed's. Who does not know that Bunker's Hill, rising back of 
Breed's, is more elevated than the latter, on which the monument is 
rising .? (Yes, and by the patriotism of the ladies of 1840, now towers 
to the stars.) 

Little can be said of the Vestiges of the Residence of the 
Northmen in this Country. — There is a large rock at the junction 
of Smith's creek with Taunton river, with a singular inscription on it. 
It was evidently made with an iron instrument. Passing over the par- 
ticular remarks of the Editor, on these letters, I would give his sup- 
position as to their meaning. 

Thorfins, with one hundred and fifty-one men, took possession of the 
country. 

Professor Rafn has deciphered an inscription on the Paradisic rock 
of Iceland, which, he says, proves beyond doubt the European origin 
of the inscription on this in Massachusetts. 

John R. Bartlett, Esq. copied the inscription. He found the charac- 
ters permanently imbedded in the rock called Gneiss. 

There are similar inscriptions on rocks in the vicinity of Mount Hope 
Bay. 

The people in the north of Europe were fond of making inscriptions 
on rocks on the borders of lakes and rivers ; for such are found in 
Norway, Sweden, and Scotland. They are called " Runes." 

One of these inscriptions, found on a rock in Sweden, has been de- 
ciphered by Professor Finn Magnusen. The inscription relates to a 
battle fought about A. D. 680, between the kings of Norway and Swe- 
den. Accounts of this battle were given by authentic historians. 

In a work just issued in Denmark, it is proved that there are several 
other inscriptions found in the neighborhood of Taunton, like the one 
above. Also, that the old stone building at Newport, R. I. was erected 
by the Northmen ; for it is exactly like the stone houses of Norway, 
built as baptisteries. The oldest people of Rhode Island know nothing 
of the origin of that curiously built edifice. 
3 



18 



A LECTURE ON THE 



The light of evidence constantly flowing in from every quarter, con- 
firms fully the fact, that the men of the North crossed the Atlantic 
before the day of Columbus. Objections to the theory are now few, 
and, like angels' visits, " far between." 

The Northmen originally used sixteen of these Runic characters. 



Were the Northmen capable of making discoveries, and of record- 
ing them ? The rude children of our forests could not perform a work 
so mighty. 

The Roman historian, Tacitus, spake of the invasion of the people 
of the North before the Christian era. He says of the Cimbri, that 
they were not a small tribe, but mighty in fame ; that the vestiges of 
their ancient glory still remained in their fortifications ; that no other 
nation had so often given them cause to dread their arms — not the 
Carthagenians, or Spaniards, or Gauls. 

In later times, the Northmen made incursions upon Germany, 
France, England, the Orkney, Farroe, and Shetland Isles. 

The French were in such fear of the Northmen, that they inserted 
in their Liturgy, " A furore Normanorum, libera nos, O Domine."* 

In the ninth and tenth centuries, the Danes or Northmen invaded 
England, and seated one of their favorite princes, Canute, on the throne 
of Alfred. 

They were a daring people — the sea was their home — the mountain 
wave was the scene of their sport — far and wide did they wander, 
without compass to guide. 

Their vessels were built of timber that is now eagerly sought by the 
first maritime nation of the earth. 

A people, some of whose leaders boasted of never having slept by a 
cottage fire, became the dread of Christendom. They ruled the waters 
from the Arctic ocean to the Azores — they passed between the pillars 
of Hercules — they ravaged the coasts of Spain and France — sacked 
the cities of Tuscany — drove the Saracens from Sicily. They deso- 
lated the classic fields of Greece — penetrated the walls of Constantino- 
ple. Yes, in rescuing the Holy Sepulchre, they led the van of the 
chivalry of Europe. Mark their valor and their success ; for one hun- 
dred Northmen knights, with one aid or squire each, drove ten thousand 
Saracens from Sicily. 

Scott gives a beautiful description of this remarkable people, in 
speaking of the Western Isles : 

" Thither came in times afar, 
Stern Lochlin's sons of roving war: 
The Northmen, trained to spoil and blood, 
Skilled to prepare the raven's food j 
King's of the main, their leaders brave — ■ 
Their barks, the dragons of the wave." 

In describing king Harold's ship, it is said : 

" And dragons' heads adorn the prow of gold." 

Seest thou the tiny fleet of some school-boy, launched on an isolated 

* From the rage of the Northmen, good Lord deliver us. 



tUSCOVERY OF AMERICA. 19 

sheet of water ? And such were the greatest armaments of the famous 
nations of antiquity, compared with those of the Northmen. 

The present illustrious queen of England is a direct descendant of 
the Northmen. It will be recollected that Rollo, the Norman, invaded 
France in 912, and enthroned himself in the North. In 1066, William 
of Normandy conquered England. These sovereigns were Northmen ; 
and from their family, the pride and glory of Great Britain descended. 

At the beginning of the eleventh century, the Danes and Norwegians 
were converted to Christianity, and thereby received a new impulse, 
that led them to extend the blessings of the Gospel. And who but this 
.people could ever have established missions in Greenland ? 

What shall we say of the ability of the Northmen to record incidents 
of their voyage ? 

In the year 1000, on their conversion to Christianity, they adopted 
the Roman alphabet. This was their Augustan age. The thirst of the 
Icelanders for learning, is seen in the conduct of Ulfijot, their supreme 
legislator, who, in 925, undertook a voyage to Norway, in his sixtieth 
year, to acquire a more perfect knowledge of the legal customs and 
institutions of the parent country. 

In Iceland, the learned were called Skalds and Sagamen. 

The former were poets and historians. Skalds denote " smoothers 
or polishers of language." 

The Sagamen recited in prose, with greater detail, what the Skalds 
had recited in verse. 

By the recitations of the Skalds, the real and traditionary history of 
the country was transmitted from generation to generation. 

Memory is, perhaps, the most improveable faculty of our nature. 
Deprived of books, it depends upon its own resources. Its strength is 
seen in the following instance : An Icelandic Skald sang sixty different 
lays in one evening, before king Harold Sigurdson ; and, being asked 
if he knew any more, declared that these were only the half of what 
he could sing. 

Their traditionary histories were written down and preserved. 

As poetry is among the antiquities of all nations, the events it records 
have ever been preserved by the recitations of Skalds, Minstrels or 
Bards. 

And whom does the conqueror of Wales cut off from the land ? 
Does not Edward the First, of England, destroy the Minstrels of Wales, 
lest they should, by their recitations, awaken that spirit of liberty in the 
breasts of the vanquished, which would lead them to throw off the yoke 
of the British monarch? 

These Skalds were distinguished men — the companions of kings. 
They sometimes were kings, as in the instance of Regnar Lodbrok. 

The Sagamen made their recitations in public and private, at con- 
venient opportunities. 

If Augustus delighted to have Virgil and Horace on either hand, so 
the Scandinavian monarclis rejoiced to have Skalds and Sagamen in 
their presence. 

At solemn feasts, the services of these men were required. 

Ssemund, in 1056, collected the different poems relating to the my- 



20 A LECTURE ON THE 

thology and history of the North. The collection was called the " Po- 
etic Edda." He was a man of learning, having been educated at the 
Universities of Germany and France. 

He performed for the ancient poems the same office which is said to 
have been done by the ancient Greek rhapsodist who first collected and 
arranged the songs of his predecessors, and reduced them to one con- 
tinuous poem, called Homer's Iliad. 

Snorre Sturslon, judge of Iceland, was the most distinguished scholar 
of his day. His principal work was the Prosaic Edda. It treats, in 
particular, of Scandinavian mythology. He lived in 1178. His bath 
still attracts the attention of the traveller. The aqueduct of it is five 
hundred feet long, and is composed of hewn stone finely united by 
cement. The reservoir is similarly constructed, and will contain thirty 
persons. The water was supplied from one of their warm springs. 

The general characteristics of the Icelandic tongue are copiousness, 
energy, and flexibility, to an extent that rivals every modern language, 
and which enables it to enter into successful competition with the Greek 
and Latin. 

Were not the Icelanders, then, capable of recording the events inci- 
dent to a voyage of discovery } 

The internal evidences found in these documents are in favor of 
their authenticity. 

Besides, there are in existence a series of works from the time when 
these voyages purport to have been made, down to the present time, 
which have been preserved, and which make mention of these discoveries. 

Distinguished men, who have had superior opportunities of ascertain- 
ing the merits of this question, have come to the conclusion that the 
descendants of the Scandinavians were the discoverers of America, 
prior to the time of Columbus. Among these, are Dr. Forster, Mr. 
Wheaton, our Minister at the Court of Berlin, and Baron Von Hum- 
boldt, also of the above city. 

In a work sent from Denmark, are the following important remarks : 
'' Alexander Von Humboldt, who, of all modern travellers, has thrown 
the greatest light on the physical circumstances, first discovery, and 
earliest history of America, has admitted that the Scandinavian North- 
men were the true, original discoverers of the New World. He has 
also remarked, that the information which the public as yet possesses 
of that remarkable epoch in the Middle Ages, is extremely scanty ; and 
he has expressed a wish that the Northern Literati would collect and 
publish all the accounts relating to that subject." 

The Society of Northern Antiquarians has complied with his request, 
in publishing to the world the great work I before mentioned. 

Besides Adam of Bremen's account of the discovery of America, this 
great work speaks of Bishop Eric's voyage to Vinland, in 1121. Al- 
though Thorfin's men were driven away at first by the natives, yet, it 
is reasonable to suppose, that they at length returned and formed colo- 
nies in this quarter, together with others who visited America, as named 
in the Icelandic MSS. 

If voyages were made, from time to time, to different parts of Amer- 
ica, by the Northmen, is it not reasonable to suppose that some parts 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 



21 



of our country were inhabited by them for a long time, and that Bishop 
Eric visited Vinland to perform Episcopal duties, and that the North- 
men left evidences of their arts, in the antiquities 1 will briefly name ? 

How fond is man to linger around mouldering ruins — to fix the eye 
on the mutilated column overgrown with ivy ! But are there not an- 
tiquities as worthy as those of art ? I mean those of our own species. 

I shall make a remark on a human skeleton I saw, not long since, at 
Fall River, in the vicinity of Narraganselt Bay. 

1 had an extensive view of the region around Mount Hope, lying on 
the west of Mount Hope Bay. How accurately is the scenery por- 
trayed in the Icelandic documents ! 

A skeleton was dug up, a few years since, in that place. It had a 
breast-plate or medal hanging from its neck, thirteen inches long, and 
six in width at the top, and five at the bottom. It had, also, an orna- 
ment of fillet-work around its body, four and a half inches wide. These 
ornaments are made of brass, or, as Dr. Webb says, of bronze. A 
knowledge of the uses of this artificial metal implies a considerable ad- 
vance in the arts. 

I witnessed, lately, an object of interest in the State of New York. 

Not long since, a large oak tree, cut down in Lyons, was taken to New- 
ark ; and, on sawing it, there was found, near the centre, the marks of 
an axe. On counting the concentric circles, it was discovered that 
four hundred and sixty had been formed since the cutting was made. 

But the most striking circumstance is, that this large cavity, now vis- 
ible, was made by an edged tool. The rude stone axes of the present 
race of Indians could never have made clefts so smooth as those I saw 
in the block in the hotel at Newark. 

On furdier examination, I presume this skeleton, whose head is dif- 
ferent from that of the natives, was a Northman ; and that the cuttings 
in this tree were made by axes wielded by the descendants of the 
Northmen. For I find that the Icelandic MSS. speak of breast-plates 
worn by the Northmen ; and as to their axes, it is stated that the natives 
tried them on wood, and afterwards on stone ; but the instruments used 
by the former to cut down maple trees, could not withstand the use 
made of them, by the latter, upon stone. If it be asked what has be- 
come of the Northmen, and where are their descendants } we answer : 
Like the mighty master-builders of the splendid cities of Central Amer- 
ica, and of the fortifications, mounds, &c. of the United States, the} have 
passed into oblivion. Nations seem to vanish in a day : — like the 
300,000 inhabitants of Moscow, who left the city instantly on the ap- 
proach of the mad Corsican. 

There have been discovered beyond lat. 60°, in Greenland, upwards 
of 500 people, resembling those in the north of Europe, probably de- 
scendants of the Northmen. 

An important inquiry arises: Was Columbus aware of the discove- 
ries of the Northmen } Fmm a letter preserved by his son, it appears 
he visited Iceland in 1477. It is thought by the Danes that he there 
obtained a knowledge of the discovery of Vinland. Allowing this to 
be the case, it is singular he should never have given any intimation 
of such knowledge. 



22 A LECTURE ON THE 

Instead of walking through Spain, leading his son by the hand, would 
he not at once have rushed into the presence of the sovereigns, and 
acquired patronage, wealth and honor, by telling them that the obscure 
Icelanders had discovered the region he wished to unfold ? 

His greatest enemies never accused him of having reached the New 
World by information received from Iceland. 

But, as Columbus was rather artful, he might, from particular mo* 
tives, have concealed this knowledge from the observation of mankind. 

After all, let not the circumstance of this prior discovery, cause, in 
our view, the laurels given to Columbus to wither on his brow. Let 
us ever honor him for his perseverance and his virtues. 

Let not Leif and his associate Northmen deprive him of what the 
voice of nations has awarded, the merit of having given, not to Ferdi*- 
nand and Isabella only, but to successive generations, a New World. 

Iceland, though but a speck on the bosom of the Northern ocean, is 
not unworthy of our notice. Though dark to the superficial observer, 
yet it shines with a lustre brighter than the flame rising from its volca- 
no. — It is the light of knowledge. That obscure island is remarkable 
for the attention paid to learning. Even many among the common 
class pursue the higher branches of study. Their long nights are en- 
livened by the custom o^ every member of the family gathering around 
the bright lamp, while one reads for the amusement and instruction of all. 

The sources of happiness are not, like those of mighty rivers, hid 
from the view of most people. They are accessible to all. The Ice- 
landers, living in a remote island, and cut off from privileges that milder 
climates present, are naturally led to look for happiness in the pursuit 
of knowledge. 

If the celebrated Pliny could say his books were sovereign consolers 
of sorrow, cannot the Icelander also declare that, when mountain- waves 
lash the shores, he can find pleasure in the pursuit of those studies that 
mend the heart and enlighten the mind ? Ah, yes ! fondness for books 
will create an artificial summer in the depths of the most gloomy season. 

The sunny Italy may boast of the beauteous tints that flush her skies ; 
but, after all, her efl?eminate inhabitants may be destitute of that happi- 
ness enjoyed by those who live where winter reigns uncontrolled most 
of tlie year. 

The benevolence of Deity is seen in the contentedness felt by those 
who live in the higher latitudes, where, as a writer said of countries 
north of the Alps, Nature seems to have acted the part of a stepmother. 

What a contrast between the condition of the Icelanders and that of 
their forefathers ! They were the worshippers of the god Wodin. 
And what were his attributes } He was styled the Father of Carnage ! 
His greatest favorites were such as destroyed most of their fellow- 
creatures in the field of battle. 

Bat the Prince of Peace has broken the sceptre of the Father of 
Carnage. 

The benign influence of His Gospel is seen in all the departments 
of Government. Observe its effects as seen in the difl^erence between 
the feelings of Lodbrok, a Northman king and Skald, and those evinced 
by one who was so successful of late in settling our border difficulties. 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 23 

Lodbrok, in his death-song, says : " Eight earls graced my Dwina's 
mouths. The crimson sweat of death poured on the sullen sea." Yes, 
he exulted in seeing his laurels dyed in the blood of his fellow-creatures. 

But " peace-makers " in Europe and America gaze in rapture on 
those of the great PACIFICATOR, while verdant under the sun of 
peace. 

Let me ask, what would have been the consequences, had Scott " let 
slip the dogs of war ?" Cities in flames, desolated fields, the wail of 
the widow, and the orphan's cry ! 

Who would not award to such a hero, rather than to Augustus Caesar, 
a place among the stars ? (See Georgica, B. I., 34.) 

Such is the influence of Christianity, where the Northmen found 
those who heard the Great Spirit in the thunder. 

This, as Cicero said of Rome, is the glory of all lands. 

" Wisdom and knowledge are the stability of our times." All classes 
become sensible that knowledge is the guardian of property. In every 
place they eagerly seek after that wisdom which, as Isocrates says, is 
the only imperishable treasure. Who can stay the progress of knowl- 
edge ? You might as well think of erecting a tower whence you could 
grasp the Pleiades, as to attempt to oppose the march of mind. To 
swell the tide of improvement, it is pleasing to reflect that men of the 
first talents are engaged ; and that, tin'ough the medium of those lec- 
tures, which, if they are not the fountains of knowledge, are important 
guides to them. 

A word in praise of the Scandinavians. Like the patriarch, they 
went in search of a region, they knew not where. We praise them for 
their courage, we applaud them for their zeal, we respect them for their 
motives ; for they were anxious to enlarge the boundaries of knowl- 
edge. They reached the wished-for land, 

'' Where now the western sun 
O'er fields and floods, o'er every living' soul, 
Difiuseth glad repose." 

The Scandinavians have opened to view a broad region, where smil- 
ing Hope invites successive generations from the Old World. 

Such men as a Csesar or a Tamerlane conquer but to devastate coun- 
tries. Discoverers add new regions of fertility and beauty to those 
already known. And are not the hardy adventurers, ploughing the 
briny wave, more attractive than the troops of Alexander marching to 
conquer the world, with plumes waving in the gentle breeze, with arms 
glittering in the sunbeams ? Who can tell the benefits the former con- 
fer on mankind ? -^ 

" To count them all demands a thousand tongues, 
A throat of brass, and adamantine lungs." 



APPENDIX 



Mr. Stephens does not agree with the majority of travellers as to the antiquity of the 
cities ill Central America. He is, as Mr. Schoolcraft observed to me, in the minority on 
that subject. 

In one place, however, he seems to confess their great antiquity : for he says that Cortez 
passed within 20 or 30 miles of them, and that some of them were unknown and their mem- 
ory lost. 

I have seen some of the remarkable antiquities Mr. Norman brought from Yucatan, as 
Penates, Hieroglyphics on fine lime-stone, pieces of the lintels made of the Zuporte wood. 
He kindly gave me a specimen of tiiis wood, which is hard, fine and heavy, and as lasting- as 
time. Beautiful were the architecture and painting's he saw. The latter was in fresco, and 
as fresh, apparently, as if recently executed. 

Mr. N. thinks the cities of the South are of very remote origin. 

The wooden beams Mr. Stephens saw, like those in the Cave Temples of Hindostan, which 
are several thousand years old, and the old oak bridge, built near Rome, 500 years before 
Christ, have been preserved probably for an equal period. 

In relation to the Northmen, it appears to be generally admitted, that they were the first 
known discoverers of the Western Continent. 

The late Noah Webster, Esq. told me he examined the subject forty years since, and came 
to the above conclusion. 

W. II. Prescott, LL.D. advances the same opinion in his late splendid work on Mexico. 
Rev. Mr. Hawks, now of St. Louis, has written a valuable little work on " Lost Green- 
land,'^ in which he speaks of 17 Bishops who successively presided in that country. The 
colony suddenly disappeared in or near 1G14. The present colony was established in 1721. 
Capt. Williams, of Boston, a Dane, told me he saw the governor of Greenland, an old 
schoolmate of his, who shewed him a book published in Greenland, giving an account of 
these discoveries. It had a map of Cape Cod and Boston Harbor. Capt. W. has exam- 
ined the mound at St. Louis, and says it resembles those in Denmark. He thinks the forti- 
fications West were erected by the jSforthmen. 

It is not unreasonable to suppose that such fortifications as those on Rock River, Wiscon- 
sin, were the strong holds of valiant chiefs of the North, in olden times — that on this conti- 
u^nt bold knights oncf? sallied forth as from Feudal castles, with lance and spear, in defence 
of " injured lady love." I have a piece of fine burnt brick from the ruins of this fortifica- 
tion at Astraland, Wis. 

Mr. Schoolcraft is going to publish an article on a stone found in a mound in Western 
Virginia, that has a Celtic inscription on it. " This, as he observed, proves that Europeans 
visited this country before Columbus. 

As to the red men, clouds of obscurity conceal their origin. Mr. Schoolcraft, late Indian 
Agent, thinks they are of Asiatic origin. Many suppose they are the descendants of the 
Israelites. Vague are their own traditions as to their origin, " Some Indians say they came 
from the East 5 some from the West ; some from the North, and some from the South. 
Some think they came from beneath the earth — others suppose they came from the skies. 

While the nations of the earth are reposing in the shade of the Olive Branch, this auspi- 
cious time of peace enables all classes to engage in those studies that tend to soften the 
mind and refine the life. 

The study of Antiquities is becoming prominent in both continents. Even the crowned 
heads of Europe are paying great attention to antiquarian researches. As the Czar — the 
King of Prussia— Her Majesty of England— the Danes— the French, and others of that quar- 
ter of the globe are doing much to unfold the history of remote periods. 

And that spirit of inquiry which awoke perhaps in the East, folds not its wings in apathy 
on crossing the Atlantic ; for here its developments astonish both hemispheres. Who can 
limit the vigilant eye of the antiquarian in its future discoveries ? 



AQ % 








n^> 




ci°^ 



V^ vt,'^'. 






': .♦^•V 






.c°^♦:^^^•^°o.„ .<-^<,\. .co^.•>i^^^°o_. .,^ 



/«-^i'% ^°^:^B>'> .^<-^i>-^ 



^^/^•\/ "o^-^^-/ \'^-^\/ -. 




3* •^m^^' "ov 













.<- 







<> *-.*.* .G 







G" 'o^ -o . . ^ 

0^ .-^J^^. "^o. 



.^^^ 



o„ * 



<V' ...., ^< 












V ^;-\. 

*^-«. 



